Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning Department

 

TO:

David L. Corliss, City Manager

FROM:

Planning Staff

CC:

Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager

Casey Toomay, Assistant City Manager

DATE:

October 9, 2014

RE:

HERE project parking analysis update

 

This memo responds to a request by the City Commission for:

1.    A review of off-street parking requirements for various local development projects.

2.    A review of KU student parking demands.

3.    A review of other university communities’ requirements for off-street parking.

 

Attachments:

A.    Supporting Research and Findings

B.    KU Parking data by residence

C.    Sample of high-density residential developments

D.   Community Parking Comparison

 

Summary Conclusions:

1.    Review of off-street parking requirements for various local development projects.

 

Within Lawrence and around the University of Kansas, most high-density residential developments provide the minimum code required parking. Staff was not able to determine if the amount of parking provided for the developments is meeting or exceeding this parking demand. See attached research for details.

 

2.    Review of KU student parking demands.

 

Staff, with the assistance of the KU Parking Department, reviewed existing parking demand for various residential housing types on campus and determined that Jayhawker Towers is the most similar University housing to the proposed Here at Kansas project.  The average percent of parking permits for sophomore through senior classes at Jayhawker Towers is approximately 71%.   KU parking data shows that 70 to 75% of sophomore, junior and senior residents in Jayhawker Towers purchased parking permits. It may be reasonable to assume a similar parking demand for the Here residents. This does not account for the proposed non-residential uses within the mixed-use Here development.

 

3.    Review of other university communities’ requirements for off-street parking.

 

Staff reviewed the parking requirements for multi-family developments in the Big 12 university communities as well as four previous Big 12 communities.  As expected, the results are varied.  The Lawrence Development Code requires 1 space per bedroom + 1 space per 10 dwelling units to accommodate guests.  The majority of communities require 1 – 2 spaces for each one-bedroom unit.  The most variation is seen in the three- and four-bedroom units where requirements vary from 1 – 4 spaces per unit.  The average requirement for a three-bedroom apartment was 2.5 spaces per unit.

 

Several of the codes included special standards for either mixed-use districts or districts near downtown or campus locations.  As noted, the Lawrence Development Code increased requirements in 2006 to require additional parking for larger-bedroom developments.  Staff is in the process of reviewing certain parking standards, Article 9 – Parking, Loading and Access, with the Planning Commission (TA-13-00235).  With this current effort, it may be appropriate for Staff to do additional research to determine if the parking standards for apartment developments should be revised.

 

Applicant’s Request and Discussion:

The applicant’s request is to reduce the off-street parking spaces by 100 and provide 477 spaces in the proposed garage.   The developer has stipulated that the non-residential portion of the request is proposed to be predominately accommodated through on-street parking. The number of required parking spaces for the non-residential portion of the development will vary depending on the specific tenant uses. The number of on-street spaces to be provided is a function of the public improvement plans. The current application proposes 107 on-street parking spaces on both Indiana and Mississippi Streets. The final number may be less.

 

Part of the discussion on this topic must take into account the parking issues identified in the Oread Neighborhood.  The final report of the Parking Audit Workshop conducted in April 2013 noted the following about the broader area of the Oread Neighborhood:

 

Over time, the residential density of this neighborhood has increased, and the supply of parking has not increased at a matching rate. The neighborhood has many multi-family residential units in this neighborhood - both apartment buildings and homes that have been converted to multi-family. Some homes have accessory parking lots on-site, but the lots frequently do not provide enough spaces to meet existing parking requirements—one space per bedroom. These “under-parked” residences create additional demand for on-street parking. Other homes have no on-site parking at all, which is frequently a result of the historic, early 20th century nature of the homes. In other cases, the topography of Mount Oread prevents on-site parking, and alleys, which commonly supply some residential parking, are not feasible on all blocks due to the slope.

 

The conditions described above, along with the observed practice of student commuter parking taking up on-street spaces, has created the parking issues in the neighborhood.  The neighborhood is located between two highly regulated parking areas – downtown and campus – where fees to park are assessed.  The neighborhood is a no-cost alternative to primarily the fee system of campus.  Development projects in recent time have had to meet the code so as not to exacerbate the conditions that were created over time by not requiring enough spaces to meet demand.  There is no code provision, however, for new developments to take on more demand to address the commuter parking issue.

 

A reduction in parking as proposed by the applicant would be consistent with the modeled off-street parking demand at the Jayhawker Towers residential apartment located on campus. The Planned Development Overlay District provides the City Commission authority to reduce parking for good cause shown.  

 

Recommendation

Staff concludes that the request to reduce the number of spaces in the garage by 100 should be approved and that potential revisions to parking regulations be addressed in the pending text amendment to Article 9, Parking, Loading and Access (TA-13-00235).

 

Here Project

Off-Street Parking Required

Residential Parking Required

Residential Use Required Parking

Residential Use Adjusted Parking

Residential at 1/bedroom  = 624 spaces

Guest at 1/10 units (172 units)  = 18 spaces

 

Total spaces required = 642 spaces

Residential  at 71% of bedrooms = 443 spaces

Guest at 1/10 units (172 units)  = 18 spaces

 

Total adjusted spaces = 461 spaces

Non-Residential Parking Required

Non Residential Use Required Parking

Non Residential Use Required Parking

Retail and Restaurant Uses = 78 Spaces

Retail and Restaurant Uses = 78 Spaces

Total Parking Required

Residential Uses                = 642

Non-residential uses           = 78

Reduction due to shared

  pkg and bonus pts           = 37

 

                               Total = 683

Residential Uses = 461

Non-residential uses = 78

 

 

 

Total required per adjusted = 539

 

Parking Proposed

Off-Street Parking = 477 spaces (garage)

On-Street Parking = 107 spaces (Indiana Street and Mississippi Street)

 

Total Parking Provided per request  = 584 spaces

 

Proposed Bicycle Parking

The project includes bike storage for up to 156 spaces within the development to serve residents. This equates to ¼ of the total residents provided with bicycle storage. An additional 50 bike parking spaces are proposed along Mississippi and Indiana Streets. These spaces will serve overflow resident bike parking as well as the non-residential uses of the development.